Golf-ball.



No. 697,420. Patented Apr. 8-, 190

E. KEMPSHALL.

GOLF BALL.

(Application filed Oct. 19, 1901.1

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

KEMPSHALL MANUFACTURING COMPANY,

JERSEY.

A CORPORATION OF NEW GOLF-BALL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 697,420, dated April 8,1902.

Application filed October 19, 1901. Serial No. 79,211. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ELEAZER KEMPSHALL, a citizen of the United States,residing in Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Golf-Balls, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to balls such as used in golf and certain othergames; and its objects are to improve the quality, efficiency, andstanchness of the balls.

, In my pending application, filed September 27, 1901, Serial No.76,814, is illustrated a ball constructed with a relatively hard orstiff but springy shell, which is filled with an elastic substance thatis held under compression by the shell, whereby the latter is supportedagainst distortion produced by a blow,

the constant elastic outward pressure of the core tending to maintainthe shell in spherical shape and cooperating with the natural'springiness of the shell to enhance the effi- 'ciency of the ball. Thematerial of the core is preferably gutta-percha and that of the shellpreferably celluloid, and in manufac- 'turing such balls I preferablymake the core oversize, compress the shell-segments thereover, and causethe latter to adhere to each other, all as set forth in saidapplication. In my other pending application, filed September 30, 1901,Serial No. 76,951, the relatively soft material of the core is firstprovided with a jacket,preferably by winding twine layer 'over layeraround the same, the ball thus preliminarily formed being preferablyover size, the shell-segments being then placed over such ball and thewhole subjected to compression under the action of heat, so as to enablethe shell to more readily contract to its finished size. The jacketprevents the soft material of the core from flowing out through thecrevice between the edges of the shell as they approach each other.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved jacket forthe inner ball, so as to improve the resiliency and other qualities ofthe finished ball.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is aview, partly broken away, ofthe ball made according to my present improvements; and

Fig. 2 illustrates the preferred method of j oining the shell to thecore.

Similar characters of reference designate like parts in both figures.

The shell (designated as 1) consists of a relatively hard but springymaterial, such as celluloid or hard rubber,while the filling comprises arelatively soft substance 2, which is elastic in all directions. Forthis filling I employ any suitable material, such as rubber of suitableconsistency, but preferably guttapercha or one of its substitutes. Ifirst inclose the filling in a more or less tough jacket or coat, whichconsists of one or more layers of rope fiber, which may be hemp, sisal,or analogous fiber, preferably hemp. In this instance I make said jacketby winding the rope fiber 3 repeatedly around the filling, so as to forma ball,the windings passing over and over and forming a closelycompacted coat, al-

though the filling may be otherwise provided with a jacket of thismaterial. In its original shape the nucleus is substantially round, al-

thoughit may depart from the spherical form within the scope of theinvention but I prefer that its bulk shall be a little too large for thefinal capacity of the shell.

The shell I preferably form in two semispherical segments 4:, Fig. 2,between which the nucleus ball is placed. The parts thus assembled areplaced between forming-diesas, for instance, 5 and 6Whereupon the latterare pressed together by means of suitable mechanism, thus forcing theshellstogether, so as to bring their edges into intimate contact. Tosaid edges cement is previously applied, so that when they are forcedtogether they adhere, although the invention is not limited to thisparticular method of effecting adhesion. When required, the dies may beheated by steam or otherwise for bringing the material of theshell-segments into suitable condition and consistency, both for unitingthem and also for facilitating the compressing and shaping action of thedies. When celluloid is employed, the heating of the dies effects asoftening of the shell, so that it may be more readily pressed from itsoriginal to its finished or final size, and the dies may be then allowedto cool before the balls are taken out, so as to give the shells anopportunity to reharden,whereby they are enabled to retain their shapewhen removed. The abutting edges of the original segments at 4? may bemade somewhat full, thereby to furnish material for properly forming thejoint between them as they are subjected to the final compression.

It will be understood that the material of the shell is compressedbetween the dies and the resisting mass of the ball contained therein,and since said inner ball is first prepared somewhat oversize theresistance thereof while under such compression furnishes a substantialsupport for sustaining the relatively thin shell against the pressure ofthe forming-dies. Byproperlyproportioningthe size of the inner ball theshells when being finished may be sustained against any necessary degreeof pressure of the dies. In case other material, such as hard rubber, isemployed for the shells the method of manufacture may be varied withinthe limits of the invention.

My present improvements in constriction and method are applicable notonly to golfballs, but also to balls for use in playing billiards andanalogous games, and it will be understood that the thickness of theshell and also the firmness and relative size of the center pieces maybe varied in accordance with the requirements of any particular game oruse for which the balls may be employed.

I usually make the exterior surface of golfballs pebbled or corrugatedto any design or configuration which may be preferred by the player. Inthis instance the ball is represented as finished with relatively slightelevations of a spherical conformation; but in billiard balls of coursethe outer surface should usually beasmooth and true spherical surface.

For a golf-ball the shell is preferably made of celluloid, which isstiff and springy, and hence well adapted for use in this game, whilethe interior is preferably made of guttapercha. The object of such acombination is to produce a twofold springiness in the ball, or, inother words, to enable the elasticity of the filling to cooperate withthe springiness of the shell, so as to instantly restore the latter toits normal shape after distortion by a blow, and thus to enhance theresiliency of the ball as a whole. The elasticity of the filling, andhence its promptness in recovering from the blow, is greatly enhanced byhaving it constantly under compression, since the outward pressurethereof in all directions tends constantly to assume and maintain aspherical shape, or, in other words, an outward pressure, such as causedbycompression, is of material assistance in enabling the ball to springinstantly back to its original shape, and hence to rebound when thrownagainst an object, as well as to fly with greater speed and to cover agreater distance when struck by an implement. It will be seen that oneof the importaut features of the ball resides in causing the springinessof the shell and elasticity of the filling to cooperate in producing aball of greatly-increased efficiency.

It will be understood that the jacket covering the soft nucleus is ofimportance in manufacture in cases where the shell is compressed overthe nucleus, whether ornot the parts are heated at the pressingoperation, since even if the parts are cold the tendency of the nucleuswhen subject to pressure is to flow out between the approaching edges ofthe shell, which tendency is entirely overcome by the confining actionof the relatively tough jacket, and in cases where heat is employed, andhence where the nucleus is rendered still softer and more liable toflow, the jacket becomes of still greater importance.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the finished ball comprises arelatively soft elastic nucleus, a relatively hard springy shell, and anintermediate layer of material which is both tough and resilient as amass. This layer forms a reinforcement for the shell itself and is ofgreat value, since when the ball is given a knock the force thereof isdiffused, and hence the ball is generally altered from its truespherical shape, whereby the elasticity of the nucleus acts over a largearea with greatly-increased effectiveness, so that the end of animplement the normal tendency of I the shell, especially when the latteris made of celluloid and has thin walls, as illustrated in the drawings,is to dent in sharply, thus affecting only the part of the nucleus whichis right behind the area of impact and compacting only a small portionof the nucleus without tending generally to alter the entireconformation thereof, so that only this small portion of the nucleuswould be materially eifective in returning the shell to its originalshape, whereas by placing a tough springy jacket over the nucleus andbehind the shell the sharp indentation of the latter is prevented, sinceif the jacket is pushed inwardly anywhere a large area thereof isnecessarily affected and dragged inwardly to a slight extent, so thatinstead of a deep indentation being produced in the nucleus over a smallarea the latter is slightly flattened over a large area, and thereby theentire shape of the nucleus, as well as the shell, is a littledistorted, and in consequence the whole energy of the imprisoned mass,added to the natural resiliency of the fiber jacket, is called upon andthe ball is restored instantly to its normal position. Moreover, byemploying said intermediate coating or backing for the shell theliability of cracking of the latteris practically eliminated,particularly since the presence of such packing prevents undueindentation of the shell, as just explained. Both the shell and thereinforcement may be made of varying thickness. Preferably the fiber ispassed over and over thenucleus to form a closely-compacted coat ofmaterial thickness, so as to more readily transmit and spread the forceof the blow and distribute said force over a large area of thecompressible elastic center piece, and so as also to form a resilientmass per so. The rope fiber of which the jacket is composed is veryfirm, tough, and

resisting when dealt with as a single strand, thus efifectuallypreventing unduly sharp indentation of the ball by an implement,whilewhen these strands are compactly overwound or assembled in any suitablemanner they have a very high degree of mass elasticity, thus increasingthe liveliness of the ball.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. A playing-ball consisting of asolid nucleus of springy material which is overwound with rope fiber,and a shell. of plastic material holding said nucleus under compression.

2. A playing-ball comprising a core of guttapercha overwound with ropefiber'and a shell of plastic material holding said core undercompression.

3. A playing-ball comprising a yielding core, rope fiber wound thereon,and a cellu-- loid shell compressed upon said layer.

4. The combination of a core consisting largely of gutta-percha, ropefiber covering said core, and a casin g of celluloid compressed thereon.

5. A playing-ball having a core which consists largely of gutta-percha,rope fiber Wound upon said core, and a celluloid shell compressed uponsaid fibrous material.

6. A playing-ball having a yielding core.

8. A playing-ball comprising a shell which consists of hemisphericalsegments of celluloidwelded together at their edges, anda sphericalfilling of gutta-percha covered with rope fiber'and held undercompression by said shell.

9. A ball consisting of a solid sphere of gutta-percha wound compactlywith several layers of rope fiber and held under compression by arelatively thin celluloid shell.

ELEAZER KEMPSHALL. Witnesses:

FREDDJ. DOLE, B. O. STICKNEY.

